More than meets the eye

The red glow made me pull over and pull out my camera. Brake lights from cars traveling along the road shimmered off the overhead wires for the electric bus. The deep blue sky of a cold winter evening accentuated the smoldering ephemera. Later - warmer, and away from the immediacy of nabbing a fleeting moment - I reflected on the image. To me, it evoked the virtues of public transportation: efficient electric buses versus car commuters stuck in traffic.

That's how I work - some light, angle, or expression draws me to frame a scene. Then the interpretation can begin.

I used to look at photographs only from a literal perspective: subject, moment, composition. But then, years ago, a friend and I were looking at Josef Koudelka's dreamy photograph of a seagull hovering near the railing of a ship. The image prompted my friend to observe: "That's all about balance." As I've matured as an artist, I try to photograph beyond the surface of things.